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Bárðarbunga Volcano Keeps Shaking

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Bárðarbunga Volcano Keeps Shaking

The Holuhraun eruption continues at a similar intensity. Photo: Jóhannes Benediktsson.

Almost 30 earthquakes have occurred in and around Bárðarbunga volcano under Vatnajökull glacier since 7 pm yesterday, according to the Icelandic Met Office’s update this morning. Three quakes were larger than magnitude 4.0—a magnitude 5.0 earthquake hit at 3:52 am.

The volcanic eruption in Holuhraun continues at a similar intensity as in previous days, as stated in the latest status report issued by the Civil Protection Department’s National Crisis Coordination Center yesterday afternoon.

The lava production from the fissure in Holuhraun remains steady with lava flowing to the southeast into glacial river Jökulsá á Fjöllum. The subsidence of the Bárðarbunga caldera continues at a similar rate, the report concluded.

More than 40 earthquakes above magnitude 5.0 have been recorded in Bárðarbunga since August 16, ruv.is reports. The strongest of these—the strongest quake recorded in Iceland since 2008—was of magnitude 5.7, hitting on August 26, shortly before the Holuhraun eruption started on August 29.

Yesterday’s status report stated that the size of the largest earthquakes in Bárðarbunga has now subsided slightly and very little seismic activity is now detected in the northern part of the intrusive dike, connecting Bárðarbunga to Holuhraun, and around the eruption site.